Improvement in railroad-car seats



Inventor.

i j y y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CONRAD B. LASHAR, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-CAR SEATS.

Spccilication forming part of Leiters Patent No. 414,536, dated October4, 1864.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CONRAD B. LAsHAE, of the city and State of New York,have invent ed, made, and applied to use a certain new and usefulImprovement in Seats for City Cars; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a, full, clear, and exact description of the saidinvention, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part ofthis specification,

wherein- Figure l is a plan representing a portion of a ear with myimproved seats,l and Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the lower portion of aear representing my improved seats.

Similar marks of reference denote the same parts.

In cars for city railroads great difliculty has heretofore beenexperienced in providing sittings for the numbers that crowd upon suchears. rlliemiddleportion of such cars usually has considerable space,but heretofore has never been fitted with seats, because free ingressand egress were necessary.

The nature of my said invention consists in movable seats extending fromthe side ranges of seats in such a manner that while said side ranges ofseats are not interfered with, additional accommodation is afforded bysaid movable seats, so that those who heretofore hafl to stand in themiddle portion of the car may have a sufficient seat or support forresting against while riding, and for sustaining themselves easily whenthe car is stopped or started.

In the drawings, a represents the bottom, b the sides, and c the end,ofthe car of any usual construction. d d are the seats on each side ofthe car, fitted and upholstered in any ordinary manner. e e aredivisions or braces from the edge to the back of the seat, upon whichare jointed the swinging arms ff, carrying the seat-pieces gg.

Each brace and arm forms a division to the seats d d of a sufticientsize to accommodate one person, and when the car is not crowded theseats g g and arms f f can be turned back out of the way, as seen at x,-but when additional seats are needed, the arms f f and seats g g are tobe turned down into the position shown at y y, Fig. 2, and aresufliciently large to form a resting place or seat between and slightlyabove the persons sitting on the seats d.

The joint of f to e is constructed so that the same will not turn beyonda given point, and hence the seat will be sustained at that point.

It will be evident that this joint may be constructed in any desiredmanner that will accomplish the aforesaid object, and also that theshape of the arm fand brace e may be varied, as desired, and also thatthe seat gmay be of any convenient shape, and should be padded orupholstered on both sides, so as to form a portion of the back to theseats dwhen turned up, as at x. I have represented at 7L a swinging seatupon a pipe, z', set over a stud, k, that rises from the floor. Thisstud has a locking pin and the pipe t' a slot, so that the seat may beswung out from under the seat d, raised up, and then turned aside intothe position for use, in the act of doing which the aforesaid pin entersa horizontal or L-formed portion ofthe slot in the pipe t', and sustainsthe seat in its elevated position. When not in use, said seat is to beturned aside, lowered, and swung in under the seat d.

This character of movable seat is shown at the end of the ear, but maybe applied elsewhere.

This mode ofseating may be applied on ferryboats, stages, and under anyother circumstances where eXtra seatsare required.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A movable seat combined with the stationary seats, substantially asspecified, when the movable scat is forward ot' and higher than thestationary seat, as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my signature this 29th dayofJuly, A. D. 1864.

o. Et LAsHAE.

fitnessesz LEMUEL W. SEERELI., CI-Ins. H. SMITH.

